Method of and means for handling biscuits



Oct. 27, 1953 3, PAGE 2,656,907

METHOD OF AND MEAN S FOR HANDLING BISCUITS Filed Sept. 21, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTCENEYS1 Oct. 27, 1953 A. c. PAGE 2,656,907

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR HANDLING BISCUITS Filed Sept. 2l, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ALFREQCORNELNJS PAGE \NVENTQQ Patented Oct. 27, 1 953 METHOD OF AN D MEANS FGR HANDLING BISCUITS Alfred Cornelius Page, Belgrano, Buenos Aims,

Argentina, assig-nor to Wrightfs Biscuits Limited, South Shields, England, a British com Application September 21, 19419, ScrialNo, 116,}i66 in Great Britain October 21,1948

7 Claims.

This invention relates to thehandling of hiscults.

Heretofore, biscuits have had to be taken by hand from a stacking machine for the purpose of feeding them to the hoppers of othermachines such, for example, as wrappingmachines, creaming machines, chocolate coating machines, icing machines, marshmallow machines, tinfoiling machines, and so forth. This necessity of taking the biscuits from the stacker guides by hand and filling them into the hoppers results not only in a loss of time, but also in the employment of labour which may be usefully employed for other purposes. The chief object of the present invention is to provide a method of, and apparatus for, automatically feeding biscuits to hoppers or the like from which they may be extracted for use in the desired manner. A further object of the present invention is automatically to control the feed of biscuits to the hoppers or the like in a manner which will be described more fully hereinafter.

The method of automatically feeding biscuits froma s kin mach ne t a e tic l y di s hopper or the like ,according to the present inventioncomprises confining the biscuits between side guidesand causing the biscuits, on edge, betwe he. saidgllid s o pu h one an ther alon from behindover-a band or table which is curved over at right ganglesin the vertical plane so that ,the biscuits are turned from what ,may be regarded as a vertical position ,to a horizontal position, said bandortable terminatingat the entranceto thehopperor thelike.

The apparatus for automatically feeding bisomits from azstacking machine toa vertically disposed hopper or thelike according to the present invention comprises .means for feeding the biscuits ,on edge from the stacking machine to the beginning of ,a table or band which is curved over atright angles in the vertical planeand leads to thelentrance of the hopper and side guides to confinethe biscnitslaterally on said band or table. the :biscuits onedge pushingone another along trom behind overpaid band or tablebetween said side guides.

Preferably, there is provided a further band spaced a ve the handover which the is i s push oneanother alonefrom behind in order to confine. the biscuits vertically.

Conveniently, the curved bands between which thebiscuits on edgeare confined vertically are flexible being fixed at thezentrancezto the hopper or :the like, andtbeing adapted to float in, use under thepressurerof thebisoui j thereon.

Means may also? be 1 provided; for automatically stopping the feed of biscuits on to the curved band when the bands vertically confining the :2 biscuits bulge be ond their nonnal floatinsnosltion due to the presenc of an excess numberof biscuits between the bands.

Additionally means may be; provided for automatically stopping the feed of biscuits from the curved bands to the hopper or the like should the: flexible curved bands sag below their normal floating position due to the presence thereon of less than a predeterminednu'mber' of biscuits.

In order that this invention may be the more clearly understood and readily carried intoeffe'ot.

reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate by way of exampleand' somewhat diagrammatically, the preferred embodiment of this invention and in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional yiewthroil h the meansfor automatically feeding biscuits from a stacking machineto a-hopper.

Figure 2 is a section on line ,2,--2' of Figure ,1. Figure ,3 is a fragmentary perspective view Pi a part of the apparatus.

Figure 4 is asection through a. portion of the,

a p s n the eans for arresting the feed of biscuits to the curved flexible-band, should therebe too many biscuits on the same.

Figure 5 is a section through a further ,portion of the machine showing the means for arresting the feed of the biscuits to the hopper,

should there be insuff cient biscuit on the Curved flexible band.

Figure 6 is .a perspective view showing the means for automatically "stopping the feed ofbiscults from the curved bands to the hopper when the flexible curved bands sag below their normal floating position.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, the biscuits l0 on edge from the stacking machine (not shown) are fed between side guides H in order to space the lines of biscuits, by any suitable means, for example, by means of an endless (conveyor 1,2 running over a table I3. In practice, a single machine would preferably be arranged to deal with a plurality of lines of biscuits (see Figure 2) each of which would be fed to its own individual vhopper, but as the;

feeding means and control means are simi lar for all of thelinesof biscuits only theoperation of thefeeding and control means for asingle line will be described hereinafter, it being appreciated that the feeding means and control means forthe various lines of biscuits are independent of oneanother.

The biscuits, on edge,, a -re.fed by theconveyor I2 to a sleeve M which is preferably inclined slightly upwardly, and from the end of t-hesleeve l4 they are fed .on to a flexible steel ,band l;5

, which is cunvedeveratiri h an ss.in hevent cal plane, as shown, and terminates at the entrance to a vertical hopper I6. Above the flexible band I is a similar flexible steel band I I spaced from the band I5 by a distance slightly greater than the height of the biscuits being fed, said further band I! being likewise curved over at right angles in the vertical plane and terminated at the entrance to the hopper I6. The two spaced flexible bands I5 and I! serve to confine the biscuits vertically and it will be seen that in travelling from the sleeve I4 to the hopper I6, the biscuits are turned from what may be regarded as a vertical position to a horizontal position. It should be noted that from the point where the 4 and I! can bulge and will restore themselves due to the free end I5a of the band I5 sliding under the sleeve I4.

In practice, however, such ideal conditions will not occur since the feed from a stacking machine is not constant. In order, therefore, to overcome any disadvantage that might arise as a result of the fluctuating feed from the'stacker, means are preferably provided for arresting the feed of biscuits enter the sleeve up to the point where r the biscuits reach the hopper, the biscuits on edge push one another along from behind. The free end I5a of the band I5 is freely slidable under the upper end of the sleeve I4, for a purpose which will be explained more fully hereinafter. The flexible steel bands I5 and I! are housed between a fixed lower guide I8 which is, similarly to the bands I5 and I1, curved over at right angles in the vertical plane and extends from the conveyor I2 to the hopper I6, and an upper curved guide I9 the spacing of which from the fixed guide I8 is adjustable in order to enable the machine to be adjusted to handle different sizes of biscuits. To this end, the upper guide I9 is supported from the fixed guide I8 by means of pillars 20, and the guide I9 is provided with slots 2! to receive the upper ends of the pillars 20 so that the spacing of the guide It above the guide I8 may be varied by substituting difierent heights of pillars. The pillars 20 carry side guides 22 to confine the biscuits laterally and to prevent them slipping out between the bands I5 and I1.

There is the fixed curved band I8 and above it the fixed curved band I9. Between these fixed bands I8 and I9 there are the flexible bands I5 and I1, between which the biscuits are fed, the bands I5 and I! being fixed to the entrance to the hopper I6. The end I5a. of the lower band I5 slides freely under the sleeve I4 and the end of the upper band I! is provided with a stop member 24 which will be described more fully hereinafter. Now consider the bands I5 and I1. The biscuits on edge are fed between the bands and, it will be seen that the biscuits are of such a height that they contact (or can, in circumstances which will be described later, contact) the band I1. They rest on the band I5. V

In use, the biscuits, and the bands I5 and I1 carrying the same, float between the guides I8 and I9, as shown, and the elfective length of the band I5 is made extensible in order to permit of this floating action, and to enable variation of the bulge in the line of biscuits to take place by reason of the free end I50; of the band I5 sliding backwards and forwards under the sleeve I4. It will be seen that I have now provided means for automatically feeding biscuits from a stacker to a hopper without their being handled in any way, and that, assuming the ideal condition in which the rate of feed of biscuits to the sleeve I I is the same as the rate of take-off from the lower :end of the hopper, the machine will work quite satisfactorily. It is convenient to take off the biscuits from the lower end of the hopper I6 by means of a reciprocating blade 23 in a manner more fully described in my co-pending patent application Serial No. 117,615, filed September 24, 1949, and now abandoned. The fact that the take-off of the biscuits from the lower end of the hopper I6 is, in this case, intermittent gives rise to no disadvantage since the bands I5 biscuits to the band if the rate of feed from the stacker is too great, and, similarly, for arresting the feed into the hopper if the rate of feed of biscuits on to the band I5 is too low, and it is in connection with this automatic control of the feed that the floating mounting of the bands I5 and I1 is particularly advantageous.

The operation of the device up to this point is as follows: 7 i

It is to be considered that the state of affairs shown in Figure 1 is the normal one. Now it is assumed that the conveyor I2 feeds biscuits on to the band I5 at a rate greater than they are discharged from the hopper I6. In these circumstances there is only one thing that the biscuits can do. They must bulge the bands further, i. e. the curve of the bands must move upwardly. This is the only way in which more biscuits can be accommodated between the end of the sleeve I4 and the entrance to the hopper IS. The limit is, of course, when the upper band I! contacts the fixed band I9, when the conveyor I2 will slip under the biscuits, but things are so arranged in practice, that this limit is not reached. This is due to the stop 24. Figure 4 of the drawings shows the stop in the terminating position. Normally when the biscuits are being fed, the stop is out of the sleeve. When, however,the bands bulge upwardly, as explained above, the curve of the band I1 increases, and this will cause the stop 24 to move downwardly into the sleeve, in fact to the position shown in Figure 4. The stop 24 lies at right angles to the plane of the band I! and as this plane swings, so the position of the stop will vary. Figure 4 shows a very extreme case which in practice would not probably be reached. It is to be appreciated that the biscuits lift the band IT and that the band I5 is, with the construction shown in this application, lifted by reason of the pressure of the return spring 26 (Figure 5).

As take-off from the lower end of the hopper I6 continues, the bands I 5 and II will tend to relax to their normal floating position and when this is re-assumed the stop 24 will be automatically moved out of the path of the biscuits in the sleeve I4 and the feed of biscuits on to the band I 5 will recommence. This arrangement automatically ensures that the rate of feed to the hoppers shall not exceed a predetermined figure.

Now in respect to the case where the number of biscuits being fed on to the band I5 is less than the number of biscuits being fed out of the hopper. The biscuits in this instance will no longer bulge off the band I5 and contact the band I7, but will rest on the band I5 and their weight is such as to overcome the pressure of the return spring 26 which is made only sufficiently strong to lift the band I5 alone, and not the band I5 plus the weight of the biscuits. In other words, when the weight of the biscuits is on the band I5, the band I5 will sag and in so doing will depress a rod 25 so as to depress the same against the action of a light return-spring 26. The lower end of the rod 25 is connected by links 33 to levers 34 mounted on rods 35, which are freely carried by the sides of the hopper lb. The rods 35 are also, at the appropriate point, provided with arms 36, the free end of said arms 35 being connected to clamping plates 57. These clamping plates 3'! are preferably covered with rubber or other suitable material and it will be seen that when the rod is depressed due to the curved bands l5 and ll sagging the clamping plates 31 will be moved inwardly to grip the biscuits within the hopper l6 and so to prevent the biscuits being fed out from the hopper. Biscuits continue to be fed on to the band I5 which, due to the fact that biscuits are no longer being extracted; from the hopper, will commence to reassume its original floating position. The spring 25 functions to return the rod 25 and to move the clamping plates 31 out to their original position in which the biscuits in the hopper are free. It is preferable to correlate the resumption of feeding of the biscuits to the hopper l5 to the position of the reciprocating take-off blade 23 in order to prevent jamming, and to ensure that the feed of biscuits to the hopper I6 is only re-assumed when the reciprocating blade 23 is in one of its extreme positions. To this end, a small latch 29 is provided to take into a detent 3 in the lever 25 to hold the same in position when it is depressed. The latch 29 is urged towards the detent 30 by means of a spring, as shown, and is connected to one arm of a lever 3| the lower end of which projects into the path of the reciprocating blade 23 so as to be rocked about its pivot 32 to remove the latch 29 from the detent 30, against the action of the spring, at the end of the stroke of the reciprocating blade. By this means it is possible automatically to ensure that even after the band I5 has re-assumed its normal floating position, feed to the hoppers will not be resumed until such time as the reciprocating blade 23 is well clear of the bottom of the hopper.

Here follows a further description of the hopper elements and their operation, in different terminology.

As explained above, when too few biscuits are present on the band [5, the rod 25 is depressed. Now the rods of Figure 6 are pivoted in the hopper walls 16 and so can only turn about their own axis. Depression of the rod 25 flattens the toggle links 33 and moves the arms 34 downwardly. In so doing, the rods 35 are turned about their own axis and the levers 36 move inwardly to bring the plates into contact with the biscuits. The latch 29, 30 operates in the following way. When the rod 25 is depressed, the end 01. the latch 29 projects into the detent 30 and so the rod 25 is held in its depressed position with the biscuits held within the hopper until the latch is released. Thus, even should the number of biscuits between the bands increase so that the biscuits bulge off the band [5, the plates 31 within the hopper are held. The extracting pusher 23 is adapted to strike the pivoted lever 31 at the end of each stroke to the left and in so doing moves the latch 29 out of the detent 3%. If the weight of the biscuits is oil the band [5, the rod 25 will rise to free the biscuits within the hopper, but if the weight of the biscuits is still on the band l5, the rod will not rise and on the return movement of the pusher 23, the latch will re-engage with the detent 30.

The apparatus according to the present invention is simple, and effectively ensures automatic feed of biscuits from a stacking machine to a hopper without their being handled at any point. Furthermore, the automatic and continuous turning of the biscuits from their edge-on position to the flat position in the hoppers facilitates the manipulation of the biscuits at further stages in the process of producing and/or handling the same.

Iclaim:

1. In a biscuit feeding machine of a type wherein a series of biscuits entering a hopper are sequentially fed along a chute comprising two curved bands arranged so as to rotate the respective axis of each biscuit, seriatim, from a vertical to an horizontal plane, the improvement which includes means whereby said curved bands become flexible at the portions thereof between which said biscuits are vertically confined, and other means ailixing the respective ends of both bands to said hopper, whereby said bands are adapted to float in use under pressure exerted thereupon by said biscuits.

2. A curved band chute as described in claim 1, wherein the curved band over which the biscuits push one another along from behind is effectively extensible, its free end being slidable under the point at which the biscuits are fed on to the same.

3. A chute as described in claim 1, also including means for automatically stopping the feed of biscuits on to the curved band when the bands vertically confining the biscuits bulge beyond their normal floating position, due to the presence of an excess number of biscuits between the bands.

4. A chute as described in claim 1, also including an ingress sleeve for said chute, the free end of the upper curved band extending above said sleeve and being provided with a biscuit stop slidable transversely in said sleeve, the arrangement of said stop being such that with the curved bands in their normal floating position said biscuit stop is maintained clear of the biscuits in said sleeve, whereas when the curved bands bulge beyond their normal floating position due to the presence of an excess number of biscuits therein said biscuit stop is automatically moved into said sleeve, and thereby into the path of the biscuits,

whereby to arrest the feeding of biscuits on to the curved band.

5. A chute as described in claim 1, wherein are also provided means for housing the curved flexible bands between a lower fixed curved guide and an upper guide, the spacing of which from the lower guide is adjustable.

6. A chute as described in claim 1, wherein are also provided band housing guides and pillars for spacing apart said band housing guides, the upper guide being provided with slots to receive the upper ends of said pillars in order to permit the spacing between the upper and lower guides to be varied by the alternative use of pillars of different lengths.

'7. A chute as described in claim 1, also including band housing guides and pillars spacing apart said band housing guides and simultaneously carrying the side guides which confine said biscuits laterally.

ALFRED CORNELIUS PAGE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 749,216 McNear Jan. 12, 1904 1,439,807 Ericson Dec. 26, 1922 1,916,255 Cabot July 4, 1933 1,926,060 Peters Sept. 12, 1933 

